You must be doing something right to hit a 25th anniversary, as this year’s Roxbury International Film Festival has shown.

“It is amazing! Our audience is one of the biggest reasons we’ve lasted,” Roxbury artistic director Lisa Simmons said in a phone interview. “We created this niche for our festival by celebrating filmmakers of color. Our byline is to be fiercely independent.”

Among the significant changes over the years, “More films!  We became more international, because so many filmmakers are from around the world. It’s no longer a local festival simply supporting local filmmakers. It’s supporting people from all over.

“We’re now known among filmmakers as a festival to come to.”

Being larger means this year Rox 25 can screen 84 films in person and online.

More than simply showing many varieties of international cinema, “We’re doing workshops, supporting local writers and actors for our script reading program. And we work with Black-owned restaurants to bring filmmakers just to hang out.”

What else has changed?

“The number of people working in this space. The Loop Lab. The Coolidge screening Black films,” she answered. “Twenty-five years ago no one else was doing that and what’s nice is people that were a part of Rox Film have come back home and added to this Black and Brown filmmaker space.”

Rox 25 opens with two films in their theatrical premieres. “Welcoming the Embrace” is about the making of The Embrace on Boston Common followed by a discussion with the filmmakers, Embrace staffers and others. The second film

Two shorts accompany the screenings: “The Boston Photograph” by Clennon King and “The Sweetest Vacation” by Ryan Stevens Harris.

Closing out the film festival is “Eve’s Bayou,” which is also celebrating its silver anniversary. It will be followed by a conversation with director Kasi Lemmons whose films include last year’s biopic “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and “Harriet,” another biopic, about Harriet Tubman and her work with the Underground Railroad.

For those who aren’t able to go in person to one of the four screening venues, “We curate a special online program,” Simmons said.  “Some are in the festival in person but a number are only available online. Because it’s not just ‘Let’s put our films online’ but let’s put them together with our particular audience. There’s about 25 or so that screen online. Arts Emerson supports that.”

Rox 25’s in-person dates: June 20 (official kick-off) – June 28

Online dates: June 28 – July 2. For more information on the film festival visit www.roxfilmfest.com